I'm sure you know the feeling of craving Indian/Pakistani comida and lots of it right? We've all been in this dire situation and luckily there's a simple way to deal with it. Find a local lunch buffet and go for the oro. Today, I decided to relive some fond memories of working a tipico day in the sometimes glorious and occasionally mysterious ciudad of San Francisco. Not that the work was always agreeable, but the camaraderie regarding comida was (and undoubtedly still is) second to none. My first stop was Mezbaan under the old Pasadena Hotel where the steam table was still in full swing. Although the selection here is on the small side, the quality is muy grande: salad, sauces (including an excelente chutney), fish pakora, veggie samosa, tandoori pollo chunks, superb basmati rice, chicken korma, daal, saag, and spicy eggplant all served with a dense naan. As and added bonus I chatted up my waiter who, like myself, walked into this place for the first time that afternoon. This earned him some stern looks from the cashier but my telepathic "sure, he's a shitty server but what a nice fellow" glances back seemed to really smooth things over.
True to SF form, I followed this feast up with a trip to the candy store. After a snappy jaunt down the arroyo, I arrived at Galco's soda pop stop in Highland Park (since 1955) which truly is a mecca of bottled beverages of all shapes and sizes--seltzer and cerveza included.
Perusing the aisles of Galco's has to be some of the most thirst quenching research known to man. And while I didn't exactly find the items I was looking for (Exhibits A and B), I did make off with a some noteworthy sodas: Cheerwine, Bundaberg Root, and Nesbitt's orange with a roll of Bottle Caps thrown in for good measure. My reenactment of days of yore was a standing success except for the lack of good company, Doors references, and most importantly all those vitamins wrapped in worn and crinkled foil.
For JG, who always had a thing or two about food.
No comments:
Post a Comment